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Tripoli, 30 April:
A 23-man business team representing 12 South Korean companies took part in a one-day Korean Trade Show in Tripoli . . .[restrict]today, Monday. Companies included LG, STX Construction, STX Offshore & Shipbuilding, DI International, SK Construction, ACE Valves and Younsei Hospital.
Organised by the Korean Trade Investment Promotion Agency (Kotra) the show featured construction, infrastructure, oil and gas and e-government programmes. It was attended by Libyan businessmen and senior officials including Diya Hamouda, General Manager for International Trade and Foreign Exports at Ministry of Economy, and Omar Jawashi, General Director of Ports at the Transport Ministry. The chairman of the Union of Chambers of Commerce and Industry Idris Abdulhadi, Misrata Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mohammed Al-Riad and Aziz Massoud, head of International Oganisation at the Ministry of Oil and Gas, also took part.
“It was a valuable event,” said Alaa Ali Hussein from Kotra. “It enabled Libyans to know more about what Korea can offer and Koreans about what is happening in Libya.”
Before the revolution, trade between Libya and Korea was booming. According to Kotra, Korean companies were involved in $36-billion worth of projects in the country, accounting for a third of all Libya’s foreign business. Companies like Daewoo built Tripoli’s Marriott Hotel which briefly opened for one week last year and then closed when the revolution started. It was also involved in building a second luxury hotel on the Gargaresh Road as well as a power plant in Benghazi. In January last year, it also won orders to build a power plant in Zweitina and a hospital in Tripoli. Two power plants were also being built in the south of the country by Hyundai. The Shinhan group were building housing units in Zawia and Tripoli.
Libya is a major consumer of Korean products, from cars to electrical equipment and airconditioners. In 2010, Libyan imports from Korea were worth $1.4 billion but nose-dived 88 percent during the first seven months of 201 according to the Korea International Trade Association.
The Koreans believe that they are in a pole position to pick up new orders for Libya’s reconstruction. [/restrict]
